Heat, Hawks to replay final minute of Dec. 19 game

[StackAttack]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

If Shaq's not eligible this time around either, is this replay still really necessary?

[AxdemxO]

Hahhaha this just became very interesting...since he the reason they are replayin it

[Dirkadirkastan]

Yeah, now they get Marion's six fouls.

Stern sucks.

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Yeah, now they get Marion's six fouls.

Stern sucks.

I'm not sure if Marion is eligible to participate in the replay.

Pat Riley just made monkeys out of Stern and Stu Jackson.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Why not?

Earlier in the thread someone mentions a past replay where several players ended up playing for both teams.

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Why not?

Earlier in the thread someone mentions a past replay where several players ended up playing for both teams.

Yeah, but they had to play for their FORMER team for the replay.

[DirkFTW]

Maybe they'll make the Marion wear a fat suit for the game.

[Jack.Kerr]

Fine the Hawks? But no suspensions for officials who miss calls?

N.B.A. Settles Rules for Replay Game

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 4, 2008

ATLANTA (AP) — Shaquille O’Neal is no longer around, but Mike Bibby and Shawn Marion will be able to suit up for the N.B.A.’s first replay since 1982.

The league set guidelines for Saturday’s do-over between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat, who must complete the final 51.9 seconds of their Dec. 19 overtime game.

The Hawks left the court that night with a 117-111 victory, but Commissioner David Stern struck it from the books after the home team’s statistical crew mistakenly ruled that O’Neal, then playing for Miami, had fouled out with less than a minute to go in overtime.

O’Neal has since been traded to Phoenix, but the league said Monday that the teams can use players acquired since the disputed game. That means the Heat can dress Marion and Marcus Banks, who came from the Suns in the Shaq deal. Likewise, the Hawks will be able to use Bibby, who was picked up from Sacramento.

Miami has 10 players who were active Dec. 19 still on its roster, leaving two openings for the makeup minute. The Heat’s other options are Jason Williams, Smush Parker and Joel Anthony.

The Hawks, who gave up four players for Bibby, have nine active players still around from the disputed game. Also eligible to be added for the replay are Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson and Speedy Claxton.

Miami will have the ball when the game resumes, trailing by 114-111. After the replay is completed, the teams will get a 15-minute break, then return to the court for their regularly scheduled game at Philips Arena.

The night is vitally important to the Hawks, who are battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and cannot afford to give up a win against hapless Miami, which has the league’s worst record (11-46).

Stern also fined the Hawks $50,000, ruling they were “grossly negligent” in failing to address the mistake.

Miami’s protest was the first granted by the league since December 1982, when then-Commissioner Larry O’Brien upheld a request for a replay by the San Antonio Spurs after their 137-132 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous month. The Spurs and Lakers finally finished the game in April 1983, with San Antonio winning, 117-114.